


Backstage Pass

by Qzil



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2015-11-08
Packaged: 2018-04-30 14:32:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5167385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Qzil/pseuds/Qzil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Castiel’s car breaks down on the way to Thanksgiving dinner, he accepts a ride from a pretty stranger named Meg, who turns out to be the lead singer of his sister’s favorite band.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Backstage Pass

**Author's Note:**

> Based off the AU prompt ‘you picked me up while I was hitchhiking and you’re a famous singer’

Castiel stared down at his dead cell phone and resisted the urge to stomp his foot in frustration. He was a grown man, after all, and not a child. He would not give into the feelings coursing through him. 

He turned slightly and frowned at his car, which was also sitting dead on the shoulder of the road, and sighed. 

He didn’t like to use foul language, didn’t even like to think it, but if a situation ever called for it, it was this one. He was stuck twenty miles from town, his car had decided to go to the great junkyard in the sky, and his cell phone was dead. 

He was well and truly _fucked._

Giving into the rage coursing through him, Castiel turned and delivered a savage kick to the front wheel of his car. He was due at his family’s house in less than an hour for early Thanksgiving dinner, and yet here he was, stuck on some back road that he’d stupidly taken to avoid traffic. It had been a great idea at first, even though it doubled his commute time, because he’d only seen one or two other cars go by since he’d pulled over. 

But if he’d been on the highway, surely someone would’ve stopped and lent him their phone or given him a ride into town so he could pick up his car later. 

But now, he was well and truly stuck, and had a twenty mile hike in front of him. 

He pocketed his dead phone and rooted around in his backseat for the pair of sneakers he kept there in case of emergency. He’d dressed formal for Thanksgiving dinner, wearing one of his suits, so of course he’d worn the appropriate shoes. But they wouldn’t do for a twenty mile walk. He groped around in the backseat for his trench coat as well, knowing that it would get colder when the sun set. 

A car honked behind him, causing Castiel to jump. He cursed when his head collided with the roof of his car and angrily rubbed the spot as he backed out, clutching his coat with his other hand. 

A truck had pulled up behind his car on the shoulder. He watched as the door opened and a woman with long, dark hair pulled into a messy ponytail slipped out of the car and walked toward him. She was wearing jeans and an old, beat-up looking gray sweatshirt, and her eyes were concealed behind large, dark sunglasses. She stopped at a safe distance, pulled her large sunglasses off, and smiled. “You having car trouble?”

Castiel blinked. “I, uh, yes. My car seems to have died, and my cell phone as well. Could I borrow yours and call a tow?”

The woman shook her head. “My phone died about an hour ago while I was sitting in traffic. I finally managed to pull off and get on this road because I figured there wouldn’t be any traffic. But I could give you a lift into town, if you wanted.”

Castiel narrowed his eyes at her. “What if you’re a serial killer?”

She laughed. It was high and feminine, and somehow seemed a little familiar. “I’m not a serial killer.”

_“I_ could be a serial killer,” he pointed out. Then he winced and snapped his mouth shut. The woman was offering to help him, after all, and he really, really did not want to walk the twenty miles to town. 

She waved her hand dismissively. “I’ve got mace. Besides, I can take care of myself. Come on and get in.”

Castiel hesitated, but decided to go with her. He threw his sneakers into the back seat and closed the door, making sure to lock his car up before he pulled his trench coat on and walked toward her truck. The black paint was marred by scratches, and the front bumper was a little bent, but the inside was clean and smelled pleasantly of pine, thanks to the air freshener hanging from the mirror. 

“I’m Castiel Milton,” he introduced himself after he scrambled into the cab. “Thank you for the ride, Miss.”

The woman slipped her sunglasses back on. “Just call me Meg. I can take you as far as town, or the next one, if you’re going there. But after that I’m off.”

“Town is fine,” he said. “I’m going to my mother’s for Thanksgiving.”

She quirked an eyebrow at him. “Thanksgiving isn’t until tomorrow.”

“My elder brother is going on a trip overseas, so we’re having dinner today,” he explained. “Afterward, I was supposed to drive Gabriel to the airport.”

“Your family big on the religious names, huh?” Meg asked as she pulled back onto the road. 

“Yes. We’re all named after angels.”

Meg made a noise of acknowledgement and reached to turn the radio on, wrinkling her nose in annoyance when a commercial was playing. Castiel watched her search through the stations before she sighed and settled on the original one. 

“Fucking commercials. Just play some music,” she muttered. “I swear, I am never borrowing my brother’s car again. Tom never learned to keep CDs.”

“So, this isn’t your truck?”

She shook her head. “Nope. Hey, did you know your tie is on backward?”

Embarrassed, Castiel undid his tie and began to tie it again. His mother had given it to him for Christmas the year before, saying that the blue material matched his eyes, and she seemed happy every time he wore it. 

“So, what do you do for work?” he asked. 

“Things,” Meg answered. “I don’t like to talk about it.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“What do you do?” 

“I’m an accountant.”

“Sounds dreadfully boring.”

“It can be,” he said slowly. “I like my co-workers, though.”

Meg nodded, and silence fell once again. Feeling awkward, Castiel fidgeted when the announcer came back on the radio. 

_“And now, ladies and gents, we have a real treat for you. Cannibal Island’s new single:_ Eat Your Heart Out!” the woman announced cheerfully. Meg let out a loud groan and angrily punched the radio off. 

“Do you not like that band?” Castiel asked. Meg shrugged. 

“I’m just sick of hearing that song. The whole reason I took off this weekend was not to hear it.”

“I admit, their music is not my taste, either,” he said. Cannibal Island was what his mother called _an angry girl band._ Composed entirely of women, their songs were often violent and sexual, with plenty of explicit lyrics. His youngest sister, Hael, who was in her junior year of high school, was absolutely obsessed with them. 

To his surprise, Meg whipped off her dark glasses and glared at him. “Why? What’s wrong with Cannibal Island?”

“I’ve heard their _Shipwreck_ album so many times that I could probably recite the lyrics in my sleep,” he answered dryly. “My little sister loves them. 

They’re talented, and I’m amazed the lead singer hasn’t killed her voice, what with all the screaming, but they’re a little loud for my taste. I prefer instrumental music.”

Meg relaxed, but left her glasses off, tossing them on the dashboard. Up close, Castiel saw that her eyes were a warm hazel, and that her hair was a few shades darker than his own dark brown hair. 

She was pretty, but also looked frustratingly familiar, but he couldn’t place where he knew her from. 

“I get that. Sometimes I hear a song over and over until I’m so sick of it that I wanna smash my radio when it comes on,” she said. _“Shipwreck_ isn’t even their best album, though. _Donner Party_ is way better.”

“I haven’t heard that one.”

“Listen to it,” she suggested. “It’s a little less loud. They calmed down a bit after Abaddon got kicked out.”

“Maybe I’ll give it a try. Hael probably has it,” he said, trying to be polite. Meg turned on the radio again, and smiled when she heard the last notes of the song. The announcer came back on, and they launched into another song. This time, Meg began to sing along to it, nodding her head in time with the music. She had a nice voice. 

“You sing really well,” he complimented. Meg smiled at him. 

“Thanks, Clarence. Guess all those lessons my dad got me paid off.”

“Castiel,” he corrected automatically. 

“Sorry. You just have a really weird name.”

“I’ve been told.” The welcome sign for town came into sight, and Castiel sat up straighter. “You could drop me at the gas station. They’ll have a phone I could use.”

“Just tell me where you live. I’ll take you right there,” she said. “After all, your mother and brother will be missing you.”

“I’ll probably be the last one there, as usual. Anna and Luc always come together, but Michael is always really early.”

“How many siblings do you have?”

“Six. Michael and Luc are the oldest. Then there’s Raphael. Then Anna. Then me. Then Hannah, then Hael. They’re both in high school, so they still live with my mother.”

Meg whistled. “Shit. I only have one older brother. That’s a crowded house for Thanksgiving.”

“Yes, it is. So it’ll be a loud few days, regardless of Hael blasting her music. Oh, turn at the next light.”

Meg did as she was told, navigating through the small, suburban neighborhood with ease. When they pulled in front of his house, his mother was standing on the lawn, a worried look on her face. 

“Thank you for the ride, Meg,” Castiel told her. He stuck his hand out to shake hers. Her hands looked soft, but her fingers were rough and calloused. “It was nice to meet you.”

“Well, it was nice to meet you, too, Castiel,” she said as she put the car in park. “Too bad your phone isn’t working, because I guarantee you’d want to take a selfie with me for your little sister.”

“Why is that?” he asked. Meg bared her teeth at him in a savage smile. 

“Take a look at the album cover for _Heart Surgery,”_ she suggested. “You’ll see why. Oh, and make sure you buy Cannibal Island’s new album, _Eat Me,_ available for commercial release just in time for the Christmas season.”

Confused, Castiel exited the car. He saw Meg scribbling something on a pad of paper before she winked at him and pulled away. He had no idea what she had written. It couldn’t have been his phone number, because he hadn’t given it to her. Although, he wished that he had. She was very pretty, and it had been easy to talk to her. 

“Who was that?” Naomi asked when he walked onto his lawn. 

“My car broke down outside of town and she gave me a ride,” Castiel explained. “She was very nice. Her name was Meg.”

Naomi frowned. “Was it?”

Castiel hesitated. “Yes. Why are you frowning?”

“She looked remarkably like the girl on the poster in Hael’s room. The singer for one of those loud bands she’s always listening to.”

Castiel felt his brain short-circuit. He’d looked at the cover of Heart Surgery half a hundred times since Hael had bought the album. Meg had looked familiar. She had sounded familiar. 

“Holy shit,” he blurted. 

“Language!” his mother chastised. 

Castiel apologized and allowed his mother to lead him into the house, his heart hammering. 

He’d just met the lead singer of his little sister’s favorite band. 

.

He was sitting at home a week later, holding _Heart Surgery_ in his hand, when he got a call from Hael. The cover of the album featured a close-up of Meg lying on a table, her head tilted so she was facing the camera and her dark hair framed her face. She was wearing one of those paper hospital gowns, and was so pale that her skin was almost white. The middle of the gown had been ripped open so it was stained with blood, and there was a human heart resting on top of the open wound. Her mouth had been sewn shut with large, thick stitches. 

Castiel opened his cell phone and sighed. “No, Hael, I’ve not listen to the album yet.”

“Who cares about that? You met _the_ Meg Masters and you didn’t tell me?” Hael screeched. “Why wouldn’t you tell me, Castiel? Why wouldn’t you drag her inside? _Why wouldn’t you take a picture?”_

Castiel winced and held the phone away from his ear until his sister stopped screeching. “I didn’t know it was her. Unlike you, I don’t have an obsession with her band. How did you find out, anyway? I didn’t tell you, and I made mother promise she wouldn’t, either.”

“I found out because I just got two backstage passes to her next show and an early release of _Eat Me_ signed by the whole band!” Hael shouted. He heard a paper rustling, and Hael cleared her throat. “Listen to this! _Dear Hael Milton, I hope I spelled your name right. I gave your brother a ride a few weeks ago when his car broke down, and he mentioned that Cannibal Island was your favorite band. He didn’t seem to recognize me, and I had to get to my dad’s for Thanksgiving, so I didn’t have time to come in and take a picture with you. Instead, I figured I’d send you an early Christmas treat. Please drag your brother to the show with you, as a favor to me. Signed, Meg Masters.”_ Hael let out a loud squeal. “You’ll come with me, won’t you? She wants you to be there!”

“I don’t know, Hael, I’m not really the biggest fan of their music,” he said evenly. “But that was very kind of her.”

“You _have_ to take me,” Hael insisted. “Mom won’t.”

Castiel sighed heavily. “What’s the date of the show? 

Hael squealed again. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!”

She told him the date of the show and hung up. It was a week after Christmas, and relatively close to them, maybe an hour’s drive away from Hael’s house, which made it a two hour drive for him, provided traffic was good and his car didn’t break down again. 

.

“That was amazing!” Hael said for what Castiel swore was the thousandth time. “That was so amazing, Castiel! Thank you so much for taking me! She looked directly at me during _Fuck Me With A Chainsaw!_ Did you see it?”

Castiel winced and reached up to try to wipe some fake blood off his cheek. The tickets Meg had sent Hael had put them right in the front of the concert, and Meg had sprayed the entire front row with fake blood after she had poured it on her own face. Apparently, his was a commonplace thing at Cannibal Island’s concerts, which is why his sister and several other fans had worn stark-white t-shirts. Hael had neglected to inform Castiel of that fact, and he’d had several uncomfortable flashbacks to the time their other sister, Anna, had dragged him to see _Evil Dead: The Musical_ while he was in college. 

Hael’s blue eyes were bright with excitement, her face was flushed from screaming, and her coal-black hair was matted with fake blood. But he had never seen her happier. 

“We have to make sure we buy t-shirts!” Hael continued. “Oh, my god. My friends are going to be so jealous when they see this t-shirt. Quick, take a picture of me!”

“Yeah, Clarence, take a picture of us.”

Hael squealed again. Castiel turned and saw Meg walking toward them, a smile on her face. Her hair was a rat’s nest from her performance, her face and neck were still covered in fake blood, and her eyeliner had smudged, making her look like a raccoon. She’d changed into a clean purple t-shirt and pair of jeans, throwing off the sweat-covered things from her concert. 

Hael looked like she was going to faint when Meg walked up, threw an arm around her, and pulled her to her side. “Smile big, chickie.”

Castiel raised Hael’s phone and snapped half a dozen pictures in quick succession. Meg let go of Hael and watched her sway, star struck. 

“I can’t believe that just happened,” she breathed. “Holy crap, Castiel.”

Meg smiled. “Wanna take a picture of me and big brother?”

Hael nodded dreamily and held her phone up. Castiel swallowed hard when Meg grabbed his hand and threw it around her waist and put her own hand up on his shoulder, pressing close to him. Her head barely reached his shoulder, and the sweet smell of costume blood wafted off of her, but her waist was soft and warm under his hand. 

“Bet we make a pretty picture,” she said when Hael lowered her phone. “Come on, short stuff. I’ll take you to meet the rest of the band. Lilith and Ruby should be done wiping the sweat off their faces by now. 

Two more women appeared as Meg finished talking. One was blonde and the other had the same dark hair as Meg, and they were both splattered with fake blood as well, although the blonde had made some effort to wash her face. Hael swayed again, but Meg gave her a little push toward the other women. 

“Go say hi,” she suggested. “Girls, this is the kid I was telling you about. She’s a big fan.”

Castiel awkwardly shifted from foot to foot. “Thank you. It was very kind of you to do this, especially when you’re the one who gave me a ride.”

Meg smiled. “It’s no big. Besides, my dad always said that the first step to getting with a man is getting in with the family.”

Castiel blinked. “I’m not following.”

“You’re cute and I forgot to ask for your phone number, and I’m not in the habit of giving out mine, just in case,” Meg explained. “And you weren’t trying to flirt with me just because I was famous. You just treated me like everyone else. That’s always a plus. Now that you’re here and your phone is charged, why don’t you give me your number?”

Castiel blinked again. “Are you asking me on a date?”

“If you’re into that, sure. If you’re into just letting me sit on your dick backstage while your sister is occupied with my bandmates, I’m up for that, too. As long as you don’t go blabbing to the tabloids.”

Stunned, Castiel took a step back. Meg followed him and stood on her toes so her lips were barely brushing his. She’d obviously popped some mints, because her breath smelled like wintergreen, and even though her lips were still stained with fake blood, they looked really, really soft, and gleamed with a fresh coating of gloss. 

She gently rested her lips over his for a moment. When she pulled away, Castiel looked over her shoulder to see that Hael was still distracted. 

“I don’t believe in sex outside of relationships,” he whispered, keeping his voice low. Meg’s face fell, and she took a step backward. Before she could move away completely, Castiel reached forward and grabbed her hand. “However, I would not be opposed to messily making out with you.”

Meg’s face brightened. She gripped his hand hard and began to pull him away. “I’m going to give Castiel a bit of a tour. Play nice with Hael!” she called over her shoulder. Hael didn’t look in their direction, too caught up in talking to the women, but the blonde girl rolled her eyes, and Castiel caught her mouthing _use a condom_ at Meg as she pulled him away. 

He would definitely have to remember to give her his phone number before he took Hael home.


End file.
